Fixing the Altar
by Aspire2Inspire
Summary: After a bad experience with a possible marriage and being left at the altar, Arthur vowed never to enter a church again, nonetheless trust someone with his heart. Can Francis possibly convince him of anything else in the dreary December days?


Dawn was approaching. Soft, warm rays of the silky sun slipped through glass, coloring the floor beneath with blue-green crosses. The palest of walls contrasted the dark shadows which just barely hid them away. It was lonesome really, the emptiness of the church. Within the church sat few, sparse and spread out upon the wooden pews.

This was not a very comforting place. Other times on other days, anyone would be allowed in with open arms. Even then, Arthur would never feel welcomed again; three months prior had been his very last visit to the church. The fantasy in his mind of what could have been were much too overwhelming.

Soft hums of joyous hymns echoed through the space. He stood, adorned in gentleman's best; a fantastic suit of white. September 8th. Everything really had been perfect then. Family and friends sat all around the area, waiting with baited breath for what was to come. Lilacs lined the aisle, strewn about in a whimsical manner. What a simple but definitely splendid manner to be wed. Alas… there was a catch: the door through which his husband-to-be was meant to enter through stayed shut. Never did the man slip through.

Anxiety had sneaked through the cracks in walls, whistling in the wind. _He must be late. That's what it is_ Arthur had thought to himself. Allistor himself had even tried for the first time in Arthur's memory to make everything seemed alright. There was no reason for him to make things even harder for his brother. No word came for the five minutes which lasted an eternity. Ten minutes ticked by afterwards and finally someone slipped through the door, approaching the priest and speaking to him first. The words spoken were too soft for Arthur to pick up, only making him feel worse. Why would she not talk to him? Was it really that bad? She did speak to him soon afterwards and the words still rung in his mind. 'I couldn't find him. He… left a note.' He departed soon afterwards, going on his lonesome to the pub nearby to drain his sorrows away in the alcohol.

He situated himself at the back of the cozy church, leaning against the row in front of him with his hands tangled gently in his hair. Why he finally returned evaded even himself. It was like torture to sit in the same chapel where he had been left. It didn't help that he had to drive over an hour to make it to this particular place rather than a closer one. The travel went through snow, accompanied by soft music to which he didn't even listen. He didn't want to pray or ask forgiveness. There was no purpose to be here other than his own self-pity and the memories. Maybe it was because there really was no closure to that relationship. He wished for a proper goodbye but of course that never came. To say that the man had vanished was not an exaggeration. The question still lingered about why he had ever left him. He knew the facts though. They had just not worked out well enough, apparently.

Nothing above the cheerful tunes the birds chirped and the light muttering from the other few people in the chapel made its presence known to him. Being here took a part of the weight off of his shoulders and allowed the cold December air to swirl around instead. The peace didn't last long.

"There a reason why you're here Arthur?" Ta-tap… ta-tap. The annoying and constant tap on his shoulder did not stop as he sat stiffly away from him. The smooth, foreign accent plagued his ears and he had known exactly who it was within seconds. With no need, he turned in place fast while forgetting where he was. As he turned, he pushed the Frenchman away. Defense mechanisms turned on.

"It should matter to you", if the hand hadn't soon covered his mouth, he would have unleashed hell onto Francis. He moved back, ungracefully falling off the seat. "What the hell was that for?" He continued afterwards, luckily refraining from using too much profanity.

"Hush… it was only a question. Don't yell." Francis nearly whispered, trying to calm the rage that the Brit was beginning to boil up. Rising from his seat, Arthur shifted away stubbornly which really only earned him a sigh before Francis sat next to him properly. He offered him a hand up, considering that his feather-footed friend was still on the ground.

"Get away from me, damn Frog. It's your fault I'm even down here." Arthur snapped, pushing himself up and back into his seat soon afterwards. This was one of the reasons that he suspected his fiancée had left him. He was short tempered, lashed out when he didn't need to. A lot of people weren't too fond of that. When he came back to understand where they were once more, he glanced around. The few people inside the church were looking straight at him and, like the young child he was inside, slunk down in his seat.

"It doesn't concern you why I'm here. Really, I could ask the same from you." he finally spoke, glancing to the side with his arms crossed. Really, the picture was more like a troubled teen with their counselor, trying to talk about why he'd been sent to the principal's office rather than two adults. That didn't mean that they were completely comfortable being around each other. The atmosphere was very tense instead.

Francis was the first to do anything, knowing he should have eased into saying hello to him a little bit more. He realized he was wrong in Arthur's eyes and honestly, considering the circumstances, he was able to understand. Executing caution, he placed his hand on Arthur's shoulder, feeling him tense. ' _After all these years, you'd think he'd get used to me. Still, he's like this…'_ It really did surprise him how long he'd held this attitude.

"You do realize that you could have gone somewhere else?" Francis continued, with a little gentleness to the way he spoke. "This one's really out of your way. I had to drop someone off nearby and I saw your car." He pulled his hand away from the temperate and currently a bit unsteady Brit.

"Knowing you, you probably came for confession." Arthur muttered to himself, in such an unamiable mannerism. Since they had been so 'close', if he could call it that much, he knew when it was an okay idea to fight with him and when he should just leave it. Instead of any backlash he just laughed.

"It's too early to sit here and contemplate life. I'll drive you for some coffee and proper food, if you'll let me." Francis suggested, taking a small move towards the aisle. He wrapped his fingers around the jacket and pulled it a little more around himself, warding off the cold air.

Arthur hesitated as he weighed his options. He could stay here, by himself if Francis would let him, so that he could wallow in his own self-pity or he could go get something to drink and eat beforehand. It would wake him up and really sounded much better than just sitting here.

"Only because I want to grab something to eat." he let the words slip out of his mouth with little thought and little gratitude. "Oh. And you're paying."

Arthur was up soon after Francis, walking with enough distance between the two of them. The church was only slightly warmer than their surroundings. The soft steps echoed through the empty area and the door creaked open annoyingly loudly.

"Is it because of what happened?" Francis asked out of nowhere after walking for a few minutes in silence. Without even needing to look at his companion, he could feel the piercing eyes. "Alright. I'll leave it be." His eyes met Arthur's for a moment and bit the inside of his cheek.

Arthur probably didn't understand how much he felt this was his fault. Sure, it wasn't completely or anything but a lot of the things had been because of him. Two years prior to the wedding gone wrong, he had introduced the two at a party held by a lot of friends. He hadn't intended for the two of them to even start dating despite being a big matchmaker of his friends. Seriously, it was the last thing he had wanted but it had happened. He might have been part of the reason why Arthur was left at the altar.

That was beside the point; they were going to eat out and that was the important thing that needed to be on his mind. That and the fact that he was going to be out a lot of money. The Brit tended to spend a lot more when Francis offered to pay. It was going to be a long day for the both of them.


End file.
